I loved this one as a kid, and still do. I found out about this short via a cheap low-budget DVD containing all sorts of Public-domain cartoons, not just Superman. I have another Superman DVD containing this episode (in better quality, too!) but yeah, there's that.

Superb quality in studio animation. Good story, too. If contemporary movie theaters and multiplexes would feature animated shorts the quality of this, the cartoons might be as much an audience draw as the feature film.

The Fleischer Studio art style, which was beautiful to look at and enjoy, is so unique that it wouldn't be attempted again until 1993, when Bruce Timm and Paul Dini used it as the art template for the current batch of DC superhero cartoons.

An all-around great (if simple) story

In this Fleischer Superman cartoon, Superman must save a runaway train full of gold bullion from some bad guys who are doing their level best to rob it. Lois Lane is in the thick of things, as usual, but this time she gets to take some pot shots at the bad guys with a machine gun, as well as trying to stop the train by pulling the emergency brake. Superman eventually saves the day by manually pulling the cars full of gold to the mintI guess if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. As usual, the graphic design is beautiful. Im not a superhero fan, but I must say these Fleischer Supermans are impressive.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.

Just downloaded the 256Kb MPEG4. Works fine in VLC media player

Download the big one. The Mpeg1 file is just a green screen.

This file
http://www.archive.org/download/billion_dollar_limited/billion_dollar_limited.mpeg
is the good one until the smaller one is fixed.

This is an excellent piece of vintage animation. The 'camera angles' are particularly dramatic, reminiscent of the darker versions of Batman comics.

The train is being hijacked, Lois Lane ducks bullets then snatches up a tommy gun and returns fire. She's a tough lady.

If cartoons were animated this well now, I'd wake up early on Saturday to watch them.

Excellent print quality too.

You already know the film is good - but this copy is really clean, too. No scratches, dust, splices.

A Max Fleischer Superman cartoon, made in the fantastic style that would be copied (to a degree) later in the various DC animated stories.

In this one, a group of masked thugs decide to rob a gold train. Of course, Lois Lane is also riding on the train, giving Superman a reason to care. And of course, once the thugs realize who their dealing with, do they do the sensible thing and head for the hills? No. They try shooting him.

You'd think villains would have a newsletter or something where they could pass along these tips: bullets don't hurt Superman.

Anyway, a lot of fun, and some great retro animation.